[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 20454-20455]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MINISTER BRUCE RIVERA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2004

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a committed 
community activist and advocate Minister Bruce Rivera, a resident of my 
district who has been committed to improving the community in which he 
was born and raised, will soon be celebrating his ordination in the 
United Church of Christ.
  Minister Rivera was born and raised in the South Bronx. He attended 
the public school system in the city of New York, and after graduation, 
he joined the United States Air Force. He served his nation with 
distinction, and earned both the Purple Heart and the Cross of 
Gallantry for his actions during the conflict in Beirut. After five 
years in the armed services, Minister Rivera returned to the community 
in which he was raised.
  He immediately transferred that same tenacity and dedication to 
country to his efforts in the local community, becoming committed to 
improving the South Bronx. He founded South Bronx Churches, an 
ecumenical organization that has built more than 800 homes in the South 
Bronx. He also founded the Boston Road Association for Community 
Empowerment, which serves the interests of more than 700 families in 
the Morrisania section of the Bronx. He continues to keep himself 
involved in the community and the city, as a member of the local 
community planning board, the Chaplain for the 42nd Police Precinct 
Community Council, and as a Management Analyst at the New York City 
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
  Since becoming licensed in the Gospel ministry, Minister Rivera has 
worked on a dizzying array of ecumenical projects. He ministers to 
inmates at Rikers Island and the Downstate Correctional Custody 
Facility. His work with police officers after the events of September 
11th recently won him recognition from both the City Council and the 
NYPD.
  Mr. Speaker, Minister Rivera has typified the ideals of dedication 
and compassion. For twenty years, he has worked to improve the lives of 
countless individuals in the South Bronx. Minister Rivera has been 
selfless of his time and his talents, and the Bronx is better for it.
  Minister Rivera could not have accomplished all of these things 
without the love and support of his wife, Maria, and his son Bruce 
Anthony.
  Mr. Speaker, Minister Bruce Rivera is a fine example of a great 
community leader and a person dedicated through his faith to helping 
others. I am grateful to have such a deeply committed person doing his 
good work in my district. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring 
his past achievement and in anticipating many great things to come.

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